Loading apparatus.



No. 999,699. PATENTED JUNE 2, 1909. W. 9. LIPSGOMB.

LOADING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION HLBspsBPT. 19, 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

PATBNTED JUNE z, wos.

W. C.`LIPSGOMB. LOADING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED SEPT-13, 1907.

l 2 SHEETS-SHEET 17550622 Zoff" glafcow @tra 'il WILLIAM o.` LIrscoMB,

OF 'CROGKETT, TEXAS.

nonnina APPARATUS.

no. seance.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. June 2,1908.

Application filed September 13, w07. Serial No. 392,654.

To all whom it may concern? Be it known that I, WiLLrAM C. LirsooMB, acitizen of the United States, residing at Crockett, in the county ofHouston and State of Texas, have invented new and useful Improvements inLoading Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.l

My present invention relates to improvements 1n devices for loadingmaterial of various kinds either in bulkor in other conditionspreparatory to its'handling for the purpose of transferring it from' onepoint to another, and it has for its object primarily to rovide a loaderof this character embodying ilexible load engaging members whichV arecomposed of jointed sections that permit the relative opening andclosing of the members in order that they may readily close upon thematerial to 'be handled, and when released they will immediatelystraighten and permit the dumping and discharge of the material beinghandled.

Another object of the invention is to provide devices for flexing thesections for-the purpose of effecting the opening and closing movementsof the members.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in certain improvements,and combinations and arrangements of parts. all as will be hereinaftermore novel features being pointed out particularly in the claims at the'end'of the specification.

In the drawings-Figure i is an end elevation of 'a loader constructed inaccordance With the present invention, the load engaging members beingshown in open position 5 F ig. 2 is a view similaito Fig. 1 showing theload engaging members in closed relation; F-ig. 3 1s a side elevation ofthe loader shown in Fig. l, a portion thereof being shown in section;Fig. 4 is a detail view of one of theload engaging members detached fromthe loader; Fig. .5 is a sectional view of the load engaging membersshown in Fig. 4;; Fig. G represents a 'vertical section through one oftheload engaging membc liig. '7 .represents a scction through the axesof the joints connecting the several sections to one of the flexible1nembers; Fig. 8 is a perspective view of one oi the sections detached;and Fig. J is a perspective view of a sectionof the chain which servesto link together 'the several sections of each member.

Similar parts are designated by the same reference characters in theseveral figures. Loading devices constructed in accorde ance with mypresent invention, are capable of being constructed in various forms inorder that they may be ada )ted for use in the handling of loosematerial, such as dirt or coal, or the like, and they may be alsomodified. to adapt them for use in the handling of solid material in theform of lumps or blocks'I such 'as coal, stone or the' like.

l have shownthe invention inv its present embodiment as applied to aloader that is adapted for use generally in connection with crane orother hoisting device for the purpose of handling material in bulk,the'loader in .this instance comprising generally a supn porting frame lhaving the load engaging members arranged at the opposite sides thereof,the frame being provided with means for attaching it to a crane or otherhoisting or transferring device. These load engaging members .2 and 3are each composed in the present instance of a pair of flexible arms 4and 5, the latter embodying sets of jointed sections '6 which are soconnectedthat they permit flexing of the arms for the purpose ofaccomplishing the opening and closing movements of the load engagingmembers. The uppermost section of each arm is rigidly attached to thesupporting frame by means of straps '7, and the several sectionscomposing each arm are united by a link construction which permits therequisite pivotal movements thereof to-e'fi'ect the flexing of the arm.Any suitable link construction may be employed for this purpose, thatshown in the present instance embodying a chain comprising two sets oflinks 8 and Q which are arranged at opposite sides of the sections andextend longitudinally of the arm, and a set of connecting-boltsorequivalent devices 1() which join the links of the two sets and pass`between the joints of the sec-- tions. These connecting boltsareireferably surrounded by'sleeves 1l, and the latter rest in segmentalgrooves 12 formed in the proxi- 1n atc sides of the several sections. Inorder to permit relativo pivotal movement of the sections about theconnecting bolts as axes, the proximate surfaces of the sev;ral'sections are beveled or otherwise formed to form cle arance spacesi3, these spaces being so constructed that the material cannot collecttherein to such an extent as to interfere with the flexing of the arms.The lowermost section 14 of each arm is preferably pointed and 'directedinwardly as shown; in -order to facilitate its entrance into thematerialto be loaded, and the several arms are of` such a length that they willengage or rest in close proximity to one another when the load engagingmembers are in closed position.

Any suitable means may be employed for operating the arms to open andclose them, a pair of flexible tension devices and 16 bein employed inthe present instance whic may be composed of cords, wires or chains, andthey extend through sets of openings 1'7 and 18, extendin through theseveral sections at opposite si es of the connecting bolts which serveas axes of movement, andthe lowei` ends of these flexible membersareanehored to the lowermost section 14, as at 19 and 20. vWith thetension membersso connected, a tension on one of them would obviouslycause the several sections to rock about the connectin bolts as axes,the arm being thereby flexe so as to perform either an opening or aclosing'movement. In the present instance the tension membersv of thetwo arms' at one end of the loader are wound u 'on a pair ofdifferential drums 21 and 22, t e outer members 17 being Woundupon thelarger drum, while the inner members 18 are connected to` the smallerdrums. The loadershown is adapted to handle a considerable quantity ofmaterial at each load, and for this reason each'load engaging member iscomposed of a pair of flexible arms, the arms being connect d b crosspieces 23 which are attached tot ein ividual sections and rovide alining which serves as a bottom for t e'loader when the membersfare inclosed position,'and the llowermost,sections 14 of each member areconnected by a blade 24, the lower edges of these blades being referablysharpened or pointed to enable It em to readily dislodge the load andthereby facilitate its entrance between the members. ln handlin .loosematerial, such as earth, sand or the ike, it is preferable to rovide endpieces 25 which are secured to t e opposite ends of the supporting frameand havean outline-corresponding substantially to the curvature of t ecoperating members when the latter are in closed position, these endpieces preventing spilling of the material between the ends of themembers.

ln practice, the loading device is lowered while the members 2 and 3 arein open or vertical position as shown in Fig. l, the drums controllingthe flexible operating elements being rotated in an appropriatedirection to relieve the tension on the inner members 18, the formationof the lower ends of these members enabling them to enter the materialto be loaded. While the members are thus embedded, the drums controllingthe flexible operating members are rotated to produce e tension on theinner flexible members i8, and this will cause the lowermost sections 14of' 65 the respective members to turn inwardly,

arms that the directly engage beneath and seaeee and the consequentshortening of these inne'i' flexible members will flex the members untilthey assume a closed position, as shown in Fig. 2. ln o erating theloader from a crane, it may'be a vantageous to operate the load engagingmembers from a distant point, and this maybe accomplished by a chain orother means operatively connected to the drums, a pair of sprocketwheels 26 being provided for that purpose in the present instance.

The gripping members in the present embodiment coperate to form gateswhich open and close to load and discharge the material, the 'crosspieces connecting the 'ointed or articulated arms serving to engt en thegates according to the desired capacity of the loader. Obviouslykinusing relatively long gates, one or more intermediate articulated armsmay be provided for the purpose of reinforcing the cross ieces, and 1nsome cases such as in the hand ing of lumpy coal, blocks of stone andsimilar' shapes, it may be advantageous to omit the cross piecesconnecting the arms and to so arrange the articulated at the sides o theobject to be handled, the arms being grouped in a set of two or moreconnected for simultaneous operation, and in such constructions, thearms may be mounted to operate in various planes relatively to oneanother so that' they may oo." erate at. two or more sides of the objectandl thereby insure security of the hold they obtain.

By omitting the end sections of the rece tacle, the device may be usedadvantageous y 10o for the handling and loading of corn stalks and otherrelatively long objects, and, 'moreover, it will be clear that a loadingdevice om? bodying the general features of the invention may be made,either with or without modii- Acation, so as to adapt it for use inloading, hoisting, transferring and dumping materials of various kindsand in different conditions. Moreover, in some constructions, it maybe'- advantageons to so joint the several sections in order to permitflexing of each arm or sections in several directions in addition to theplane of movement in opening and closing, universal joints between thesections permitting such movements and in those cases a suitableadditional number of traction or op` erating cordsor chains would beemployed for the purpose of effecting the desired movements. In thisway, a wiggling motion ma?r be imparted to the several arms that' wi l1-20 facilitate their introduction into lumpy sub` stances, such ascoal, ore, stone and the like, the connecting cross pieces and theknives or sharpened edges in those cases being preferably omitted. twill be understood, of course, that loading and dumping devicesconstructed in accordance with the present invention may be adapted foruse on aerial cables, or they may bemonnted on wheels for use va'sdumping 13'0 i Wagons, and in fact they are capable of use in variousconnections wherein it is desirable to trans ort material from one pointto another.

I c almas my invention- 1. A loader Vembodying a pair of o positelymounted articulated arms eapabl) being flexed to engage and disen 2. Aloader embodying artieu ated arms oppositely mounted for movement insubstantially the same plane and connected for simultaneous flexingaction for loading.

3. A loader embodying eoperativey arranged arms com osed ofjointedsections, and devices for exing the arms to proxi mate andseparate their free ends to receive and discharge aV load. i l

4. A loader embodying coperatively arranged arms capable of a flexingaction for loa( ing and discharging and having llexible' tension membersconnected thereto for flexing them, and` drums cooperating with thetension members to Wind one member and unwind another member for flexingthel arms.

5. A loader embodying a pair of coperatively arranged arms composed ofjointed4 sections, a air of flexible operating members for eac i arm,and drums of differential,

diameters cooperating with the respective operating members of each arm.

6. A llexible arm for loaders of the character described composed of aset of sections pivotally connected to permit ilexingol' the arm, and apair of flexible, .operating members extending longitudinally oi" the1i-m at opposite sides of' the pivots ot' the sections` 7. An arm Jforloaders of the charaeterdescribed composed of a set ol pivotallyconnected sections having longitudinally extending openings -iatopposite sides ol the pivots, and llexible operating members extendingthrough the said o enings and having their ends attached tot e sectionat one end of the arm.

8, Aloader embodying a supporting frame, and a pair of coperativelyarranged articulated members adapted to open and close the bottom of theframe by a relative llexing movement of the members, and means car-Yried by the frame for flexing the members.

9. An arm for loaders vot the characterdescribed embodying a set ofsections having channels in their proximate faces, ivots engagingin thechannels between adaeent sections, and links extending longitu( inallyoi the arm and connected to the pivots.

10. A loader comprising a. supporting frame, coperatively arranged loadengaging members lmounted thereon, yeach embodying a plurality ofarticulatedl arms, means for flexing the arms, coperating knife bladesat the lower ends of thearms, and cross ieces connecting the arms andforming a liottom forthe frame.

l1. In an apparatus for handling materials for loading and dumping thesame, the combination with a suitable supporting frame, .of coperativelyarranged members jointed to permit flexing thereof tov open and closethe bottom of the frame, and pivoted on opposite sides of the latter anddevices operable. to proximate and separate the free ends of the membersfor ell'eetmg the opening and closing ol the members.

In testimony whereof' l have hereunto set my hand inpresence ol` twosubscribing wit-

